Dewsbury Labour Party This is the official website of Dewsbury Labour Party. We are fighting for a fairer Dewsbury and a fairer country.

The Conservative Government has published it plans to overhaul the planning system in its White Paper, with immediate and long term changes planned to shift power from councils and communities to developers.
The Conservative-supporting Sunday Times reported this as ‘a policy paper on planning that will make it much more difficult for local authorities to block new development’ and that ‘Ministers want to make it harder for NIMBYs to block new homes’.
The plans are opposed by a broad coalition of environmental, countryside and conservation charities, including the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Woodland Trust and Friends of the Earth.
It is currently running two consultations, one on their proposed immediate changes, with the consultation closing at the end of September and a second consultation on the full plan for their reforms, closing at the end of October.
The first consultation is on changes to the current system with 4 measures to be introduced immediately (for the next 18 months) in advance of the full White Paper being implemented. This first consultation (on the immediate measures) closes on 1 October.
There are four immediate proposed changes:
LESS AFFORDABLE HOMES
Increasing the threshold before developers are forced to provide affordable homes. In Kirklees, under the Local Plan, developers are currently required to provide affordable homes on any development of 10 properties or over. The government plans would increase this figure to 40 or 50. Over the last 5 years this would have meant we would have secured 600 less affordable homes across the borough.
MORE AUTOMATIC PERMISSION
Permission in principle (automatically granting the location, scale of development and land use) is to be extended for any site of any size. The current system of Permission in Principle only applies to developments of less than 10 dwellings but the government wants to remove this threshold. Only applications for over 150 dwellings would require an environmental impact assessment. Officers would have only 5 weeks to determine applications and the fees would be lowered for developers. The detail they would have to give would be much less and less applications would be made available for security and committee decisions. The stress on the deadlines would likely mean that councils will be required to direct more spending on the planning department, rather than other front line services, for additional officers to ensure they meet the new deadlines.
CHANGES TO HOUSING NUMBER REQUIREMENTS
Changes to standard methodology for calculating housing numbers. As is the case now it would be based on household projections but would also increase the number of homes that had to be delivered if affordability had got worse in the area in the last 5 years. It would place a minimum floor on the annual increase of 0.5% of the existing housing stock within the local authority boundary.
‘FIRST HOMES’ REQUIREMENT
25% of the affordable housing requirement (which would be fewer than currently due to other proposed changes) would have to be designated First Homes (sold at 30% discount to first time buyers).
Cllr Turner stated that this is a further move of power away from our councils and communities.
‘This will effect us for generations – and not it a good way – and they want us to deal with it in less than two months.
‘It is a terrible piece of legislation which will not even achieve what it says it seeks to achieve.
‘It is a landowners and developers charter.’
A senior officer stated that the changes are ‘far reaching’ and ‘encourage gaming from the development industry’.
You can respond to it here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/MHCLG-Changes-to-the-current-planning-system/ or by emailing: TechnicalPlanningConsultation@communities.gov.uk.
The second consultation – ‘planning for the future’ closes at end of October.
The government describes it as ‘the new vision for England’s planning system’. The Tory supporting Times newspaper stated ‘Ministers want to make it harder for Nimbys to block new homes’.
SUMMARY: THE KEY POINTS
LOCAL PLANS TO BE FAST-TRACKED
The Kirklees Local Plan took a total of 60 months to work on, draft, consult on, be examined in public, revised as appropriate, approved by the Government and then passed by the Council.
The White Paper proposes a new statutory timescale to reach the adoption of a new Local Plan compliant with the revised planning system as a maximum of 30 months (or 42 months to adopt a new Local Plan if you have passed one in the last 3 years).
Local Plan reviews would be required every 5 years or earlier if there are significant issues – primarily, if the Government is not satisfied with the number of houses being delivered. Council’s currently have to look internally at the Local Plan every 5 years, but this would formalise the arrangement and allow further government intervention on land allocations regularly.
5 YEAR SUPPLY TEST REPLACED
The White Paper proposes to remove the Government’s requirement for councils to demonstrate a 5 year supply of future housing at any one time. This requirement resulted in many Greenfield sites in Denby Dale ward being built on before the Local Plan was adopted, when the government rejected the LDF, demanding more homes, fewer brownfield sites and more Greenfield building.
The removal of the 5 year supply test would be welcome.
However, this test would be replaced with additional sanctions based on housing delivery against government targets and would very likely mean that the regular 5 year reviews will require additional land allocations being imposed from Government.
The government would provide a housing requirement for each local authority area with the overall intention of meeting 300,000 new dwellings per year nationally. There will be some flexibility in relation to adjoining authorities or mayoral areas meeting their sum housing needs collectively. It would also weaken Neighbourhood Plans.
All housing requirement figures would be set by the government.
The White Paper also plans changes to the Local Plan land use system, moving the planning system from a case-by-case planning system to a zoning system, which will give certainty for developers and fast-track their applications.
The three new proposed zone areas are:
Growth Area – these will be areas for substantial development and redevelopment with outline approval automatically granted at Local Plan adoption; they would need some reserved matters to be approved by officers.
Renewal Areas – these allocations would have the statutory approval in favour of development, currently given to Local Plan housing and employment allocations, with streamlined permitted development processes where design criteria are met.
Protected Areas – currently allocated areas of Green Belt and urban greenspace to be renamed as ‘protected’.
DECIDING ON APPLICATIONS – ‘STREAMLINED’ FOR DEVELOPERS
Public consultations for planning applications are to be ‘streamlined’ and evidence to support the applications would also be ‘streamlined’.
More decisions will be delegated to officers. This means less decisions being made in public with communities able to have their input at planning committees.
There is planned to be a significant move away from paper access to the planning system and to digital, with online digital tools replacing non-digital outreach. Lamppost notices are set to be abolished. There aims to be less consultation on applications – it is assumed that engagement at the Local Plan allocation phase would increase due to the process being more digital.
Developers would be able to received a refund of fees where legal timescales to decide on applications are not met or where an appeal overturns a refusal. This will result in councils receiving less funds from developers and officers and committees being incentivised to rush through decisions, even when they and communities believe a deferment is needed to look into serious issues further.
The White Paper also proposed strengthened enforcement processes including the potential for higher fines, which is welcome.
DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS TO INFRASTRUCTURE – SECTION 106 AND CIL ABOLISHED
The White Paper proposes the abolition of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106, in which developers are currently required to provide significant sums for local infrastructure.
In Kirklees, Community Infrastructure Levy was recently accepted by the Government and was due to be implemented, where it would raise the greatest amount in areas like Denby Dale, and would incentivise building in more urban areas allocated for growth instead.
The White Paper proposes replacing these with a nationally set Infrastructure Levy which would include affordable housing (CIL does not currently include affordable housing).
The Infrastructure Levy would be paid at point of occupation of dwellings (but set at date of permission). There is likely to be more flexibility in relation to the spending of the Infrastructure Levy.
DESIGN CODES
The proposals set out that the existing National Design Guide will be supported by a new National Model Design Code (Autumn 2020) and Manual for Streets. Locally the White Paper states that each local authority would have a chief officer for design and place-making and that Design codes / masterplans would be prepared during or shortly after the Local Plan process.
A key aspect relates to the potential for ‘beautiful buildings’ (where design codes are met) to be streamlined through a permitted development route to agree the principle of development (but would still need some technical details approvals). This should be noted in the context of the role of planning committees as set out above.
In relation to climate change, a desire to improve energy efficiency standards is stated as well as ensuring new homes are ‘zero carbon ready’ to avoid significant retrofitting later. The focus on net gains from development schemes is also set out (biodiversity net gain but also other environmental net gain). A simplified process of assessing environmental impact is also set out but the details are not provided.
Whilst setting better standards for good and local design would be welcome, this should not be used as an excuse or way to avoid public scrutiny and open decision-making. Unfortunately this seems to be the intention.
MEMBERS REACTIONS AT THE COUNCILLORS MEETING
Cllrs Simpson and Turner outlined their opposition to the proposed legislation.
Cllr Simpson stated that the White Paper refers to brownfield rhetorically but questioned whether the legislation would actually give the local authority any powers to force brownfield development where it was possible, or whether developers would be able to continue to refuse to develop brownfield sites and instead force Greenfield and Green Belt losses – as they have done in recent years via national planning policy.
Officers stated that the White Paper as it stands will not address the councillors concerns or allow the council to force brownfield sites.
Cllr Simpson stated that he believed the legislation will not deliver the housing that is needed or where it is most appropriate. He stated that ‘the Government inherently cannot tackle these issues because it is ideologically wedded to the market and maximising profits for developers rather than addressing real need’.
Cllr Turner state that it was ‘it is a terrible piece of legislation which will not even achieve what it says it seeks to achieve.
‘It is a landowners and developers charter.’
Lib Dems councillor Anthony Smith agreed that it was ‘a developer’s charter’ and Cllr Andrew Pinnock stated that it made him ‘incredibly angry’.
Lib Dem leader Cllr Lawson talked about how ‘planning is dependent on trust; this will erode the trust in the planning process’.
Other Labour councillors and a Holme Valley Independent commented during the meeting.
One Conservative councillor asked a question about Neighbourhood Plans.
A senior planning officer stated that the local area will lose power to national and regional authority.
You can respond to it here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/MHCLG-Planning-for-the-Future/ or by emailing planningforthefuture@communities.gov.uk.